third month, Jim struck a thin bed of blue
gravel. The miners who had been happily chuckling and laughing among
themselves to think how they had managed to keep Jim out of mischief,
began to look at each other and wonder how in the world blue gravel ever
got up there on the hill. And in a few days more there was a
well-defined bed of blue gravel, too; and not one of the miners could
make it out.

One Saturday evening shortly after, as the old man weighed their gold he
caught his breath, started, and stood up straight; straighter than he
had stood since he crossed the Plains. Then he hastily left the cabin.
He went up the hill to the children's claim almost without limping. Then
he took a pencil and an old piece of a letter, and wrote out a notice
and tacked it up on the big oak-tree, claiming those mining claims
according to miners' law, for the three children. A couple of miners
laughed as they went by in the twilight, to see what he was doing; and
he laughed with them. But as he limped on down the hill he smiled.

That night as they sat at supper, he told the children that as they had
been such faithful and industrious miners, he was going to give them
each a present, besides a little gold to spend as they pleased.

So he went up to the store and bought Jim a red shirt, long black and
bright gum boots, a broad-brimmed hat, and a belt. He also bought each
of the other children some pretty trappings, and gave each a dollar's
worth of gold dust. Madge and Stumps handed their gold back to "poor
papa." But Jim was crazy with excitement. He put on his new clothes and
went forth to spend his dollar. And what do you suppose he bought? I
hesitate to tell you. But what he bought was a pipe and a paper of
tobacco!

That red shirt, that belt and broad-brimmed hat, together with the shiny
top boots, had been too much for Jim's balance. How could a man--he
spoke of himself as a man now--how could a man be an "honest miner" and
not smoke a pipe?

And now with his manly clothes and his manly pipe he was to be so happy!
He had all that went to make up "the honest miner." True, he did not let
his father know about the pipe. He hid it under his pillow at night. He
meant to have his first smoke at the sluice-box, as a miner should.

Monday morning he was up with the sun and ready for his work. His
father, who worked down the Gulch, had already gone before the children
had finished their breakfast. So now Jim filled his brand-new pi